Bond yields on short- and medium-term Colombian debt increased Friday, while longer-term yields were flat, after the Colombian government swapped 4.26 trillion Colombian pesos (US$2.16 billion) worth of local peso-denominated bonds maturing between 2010 and 2018 with COP4.05 trillion worth of new bonds maturing in 2013, 2016 and 2024.
The yield on the benchmark peso-denominated government bond maturing in 2020 closed at 7.940%, down fractionally from 7.941% at Thursday’s close. “The volume [of the swap] wasn’t as big as we thought,” Felipe Munoz, who manages a fund of dollar-bonds with local brokerage Corredores Asociados, said. “We were expecting COP5 trillion-COP10 trillion.”
The Colombian peso strengthened to US$1,993 to the dollar, compared with COP1,996 at Thursday’s close. The currency opened lower at COP2,010 due to a reduced appetite for emerging-market risk after the holding company Dubai World asked for a six-month stay on debt payments, but recovered during the day when European stock markets advanced.
The benchmark IGBC stock index close up 0.89% at 11348.26 points. (Dow Jones)